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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27045538">Waltz of the Willows</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/naosuki/pseuds/MagicKait%C5%8D1412'>MagicKaitō1412 (naosuki)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>From Sherlock to Ellery Queen [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Akako being cryptic, Gen, M/M, Magic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:21:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,517</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27045538</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/naosuki/pseuds/MagicKait%C5%8D1412</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>He can't even call her out on the ‘Giboshi-kun’ nonsense, his body suddenly moving on its own, as if by the power of magic, and colliding with the wall behind him. It effectively knocks the breath out of his lungs without her having to lift even a single finger to pull off that little magic trick.</p><p>What the fuck!?</p><p>----</p><p>Heiji made it to Aoko's Christmas Party. . . but of course that Wicked Witch can't give him a moment to enjoy his time with Saguru.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hakuba Saguru/Hattori Heiji</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>From Sherlock to Ellery Queen [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1603657</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Waltz of the Willows</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Giboshi-kun, might I have a word with you?”</p><p>When Heiji hears Akako's voice, his whole body convulses. <em> Shit! </em> The Osakan truly hasn't expected to find that self-proclaimed witch here, feeling like he's been caught red-handed without rhyme or reason.</p><p>In hindsight, maybe he <em> should </em>have suspected she might be here, or at the very least should have taken it into consideration, given the fact that Saguru, Aoko, Kaito, and Akako are in the very same class.</p><p>Then again, Heiji had been so happy when a certain Londoner detective invited him to be his plus one, he hadn't given it a single thought beforehand. And now, Koizumi clearly had a problem with his presence at Nakamori’s party, for some reason unknown to him.</p><p>Her velvety voice is piercing through him like a thousand little needles, practically oozing with false politeness and something else - the promise of pain. Which is, in Hattori's opinion, reason enough to conclude that she isn't very pleased to see him here.</p><p>Gently, Akako places her hand on Heiji's arm, pulls him aside - and then knocks the wind out of him by pushing him against the wall.</p><p>“I'm Hattori Hei—”</p><p>He can't even call her out on the ‘Giboshi-kun’ nonsense, his body suddenly moving on its own, as if by the power of magic, and colliding with the wall behind him. It effectively knocks the breath out of his lungs without her having to lift even a single finger to pull off that little magic trick.</p><p><em> What the fuck!? </em> This fiendish woman is really starting to get on his nerves! But Hattori has no time to think about the bizarre display of magic - <em> because what else could it be? This really creeps him the hell out! </em> - as he stares into deep-red abysses resembling human eyes. </p><p>The woman's death glare makes him feel completely incapacitated, her eyes so ruthless and cold, it sincerely scares the Kansai detective this time around.</p><p>“Do you remember what I told you the first time we met, Giboshi-kun? Did I, or did I not tell you that in order to stop him from wasting away, being with you would be favourable?”</p><p>Heiji is about to speak up then and there, but Akako doesn't let him, pressing on right away.</p><p>“Then do pray tell why you left him to his own devices?” She jabs a finger at his chest. “Have you even <em> considered </em> what would have happened, had I not led him back to you?”</p><p>“What are ya talkin’ about!? I– I didn't leave him!” The teal-eyed boy cannot get out more than that in spite of really wanting to, feeling as if he's being choked while silently struggling against the invisible death grip of that strange creature standing in front of him.</p><p>“Oh really? Then do enlighten me as to why I seem to remember you telling him that you <em> ‘really need to go’ </em>?”</p><p>Who on earth is this unhallowed woman, and how could she possibly know that Heiji had to leave the Londoner detective when everything became too much for him, Saguru verbally throwing each and every reason in the world at him and therefore leaving him practically no choice but to go?</p><p>Most importantly, does Koizumi know about the unwanted kiss between Kudō and Hakuba, and if so, did Saguru talk to her about all of this in private already? The two must be close, then, because otherwise Hakuba wouldn't entrust her with highly intimate matters like this. </p><p>One thought after another races through Heiji's head as his emotional world is completely turned upside down.</p><p>Koizumi looks at him with absolute disdain, spiteful wrath blazing in her bright red eyes, and it appears to him that his whole existence is hanging by a thread, depending on whether Koizumi is willing to keep tolerating him.</p><p>Heiji gets the feeling that if it weren't for the sake of Kuroba Kaito and Hakuba Saguru themselves - or Akako’s genuine desire not to ruin Aoko's party - she wouldn't hesitate to strangle him.</p><p>In any case, the creepy witchy girl doesn't seem to be interested in a possible explanation from his side, regardless of whether he's dying to explain the whole situation to her. Koizumi clicks her tongue.</p><p>“That's what I thought. Want to hear something funny? It's hilarious, really. I honestly thought that someone as impudent and insolent as you would be able to comfort him. Oh no, not just comfort him, but actually heal and grow out of his shell. But alas, I was mistaken. Because instead of doing that, you left him gasping for air. Literally so.”</p><p>Akako hadn't been this angry in a while. Not since she tried to make Kuroba hers, not since she thought she might lose him to the very same man he is now <em> taking to parties </em>, for crying out loud.</p><p>Magic seeps through her fingertips, and a gust of wind surrounds her, making her hair move with it. To her credit, however, she manages to keep all other signs at bay.</p><p>“Aho! Ya don't even know what yer talking about!”</p><p>Heiji doesn't raise his voice at her, although this is <em> really </em> starting to piss him off. He has had enough of <em> her Highness’ </em> little magic show and the way she's treating him like he's beneath her, even manages to ignore the whole supernatural magic thing that's going on for a moment.</p><p>That impudent witch had absolutely no right to meddle with other people's relationships and talk like she only speaks absolute truth, making wrong assumptions left and right. </p><p>Considering that she wouldn't even let him talk, much less expand on the situation, it's more than justified to get angry, even if she is a close friend of Hakuba's.</p><p>“I get that you're worried about Saguru, just let me explain–”</p><p>Akako's fingertips suddenly start to glow with red-violet, electrical energy, thick strands of hair fluttering around as if startled by a draft. If the girl's pure rage hadn't managed to silence him until now, then the otherworldly spectacle before him definitely does, without a doubt.</p><p>“He broke down, you know. Hakuba-kun thought he might never see you again, that you would leave for good, and that all of it would be his own fault, some kind of karma coming for him. To make matters worse, of course, that didn't just last a single day, <em> oh no </em>.”</p><p>Heiji has no choice but to listen to her words, cutting him open with almost surgical precision, maliciously chosen to hit him where it hurts most; causing him enormous suffering once again, forced to relive the last few days of sadness and heartache.</p><p>“He barely slept, barely ate, barely kept it together. And <em> then </em> he has to see <em> you </em> running off with the next best guy at a bar. How do you think he felt, Giboshi-kun?”</p><p>Each and every single word burns itself into his impressionable mind, his outer protective wall completely broken through and destroyed. Just imagining that Hakuba had suffered so much without anyone to talk to and help him through this heated mess, all because he left him there, left because he couldn't bear to hear more - it's almost enough to tear Heiji apart.</p><p>What would happen next, however, Hattori could've never predicted with sheer logic alone. He is overcome by pure horror when Koizumi steps closer, having to watch as she touches his temples as she narrows her eyes at him.</p><p>Nobody else seems to pay any mind to what is happening amongst them. He scans his surroundings for a certain fair head, eyes shifting from one person to the next in desperation, hoping to find the only person who could grant him comfort, but his efforts are futile.</p><p> “Would you like to know?” She doesn't wait for an answer.</p><p>Momentarily, what feels like a hundred different images swarm through his head at once, revealing what had happened after the Kansai detective had left the scene, each new image painfully rich in detail and for Heiji to see. </p><p>Images flood through Heiji's head; Saguru lying on the ground in fetal position. Saguru, gasping for air and clutching his chest. Saguru, writing to Heiji over and over again, only to delete his messages, always ending with ‘I'm sorry’.</p><p>Saguru, pretending to be fine, smiling at the dinner table, only to return to his room, barely able to keep the food he had consumed inside of him. Saguru, merely a ghost of his former self; Staring ahead with empty eyes, focused on nothing in particular.</p><p>Soon after, waves of pain and nausea ripple through him, feeling and experiencing what the blond man must be feeling in his vision. Inevitably, this moment will haunt him for days and nights to come.</p><p>“Stop! It’s too– too much–” It's merely a distressed whisper, pathetic and meek.</p><p>Judging from that sinister look on that eerie chick Koizumi’s face, a facial expression that will surely appear in one of his nightmare again, he actually manages to piss her off even more - <em> damn it! </em> - and that can't be a sign of good luck.</p><p>His breath is stuck in his throat, body completely frozen, still unable to move even the slightest bit, and his eyes never leave hers. It’s not as if the Osakan had a choice. For better or worse, he had to endure this supernatural ordeal, for Hakuba's sake.</p><p>Then, without warning, Koizumi’s hocus-pocus suddenly loses control of his body, and without being able to stop himself, he unceremoniously falls to his knees, barely catching himself so as not to fall straight to the ground with his face first, drawing all attention to him as a consequence, while Koizumi takes a step backwards, probably expecting just that to happen.</p><p>Luckily, his face is directed towards the ground, otherwise Akako would see his eyes filled with spite and if that is the case, she definitely wouldn’t let him off the hook from here on out.</p><p>“Too much you say? This is but a glimpse into what Hakuba-kun has felt, do you understand that?”</p><p>She tilts Heiji's face up to look at her, look her in the eyes, as Heiji reluctantly lets her, far too intimate for the precarious situation he finds himself in.</p><p>Hattori attempts to stifle the boiling feelings inside his chest, heart violently pounding with ruthless anger, which is more than justified considering he has suffered the wrath of a witch tonight, if only for the reason that he doesn’t want to agitate her more.</p><p>Then he has to listen to more of her nonsense once again, claiming that she is the game-changing figure who led Giboshi-kun back on the path of the virtuous.</p><p>“I led him to you. You have only been able to see him that night because I allowed it, because<em> I </em> willed it so. Had I not put Hakuba Saguru on this path, Lucifer knows what might have happened. You certainly weren't a big help.”</p><p>Heiji cannot even think about how absurd it all sounds, sorrows tugging at his heartstrings when he all but dares to think about Saguru.</p><p>With a twinge of anxiety, Heiji curses himself as his body shivers under her penetrating gaze, inwardly hoping that Akako wouldn't detect his failure to hide the painful vulnerability he feels when she moves her hand to touch his cheek, and if it weren’t for the faint yet threatening sensation of claws, he would actually say it almost feels like a warm gesture. </p><p>“What do you intend to do now, Giboshi- no, Hattori Heiji-kun?”</p><p><em> Almost </em> , with a tinge of <em> lethal </em>.</p><p>“I won’t hurt him again.”</p><p>The next words merely stumble out of his mouth without further elaboration, though at no time do they sound insincere, even if it meant that he has to omit important aspects of the truth and his urge to justify himself and his actions.</p><p>The detective is no longer interested in wanting to win her little power game. After all, they share a common goal: to make Saguru happy.</p><p>“No, I don't suspect you will.” </p><p>The dark sorceress responds with the sweetest of smiles. For just a moment, they remain in this position; Akako standing above Heiji, being utterly in control of their whole situation while also seeming <em> perfect </em>in every way but her personality, and Heiji kneeling in front of her, like some kind of knight under her care.</p><p>Except he isn't.</p><p>Neither under her <em> care </em> , nor <em> her </em> knight.</p><p>Although she <em> did </em> imply that he may just be Saguru's.</p><p>Feeling utterly helpless to do anything against the sorceress interfering in his life, Heiji cannot muster the strength to get up on his own, even though kneeling before her makes his blood boil, a dangerous mixture of tempestuous emotions continuing to run riot within while he holds her gaze.</p><p>Hattori knows defeat is written all over his face as she looks at him with a sickly-sweet expression, clearly aware that he seethes with anger. Akako must enjoy every wicked second of this.</p><p>The bewitched detective recognises that there is nothing he could do against – even if he isn’t ready to accept it yet – a damned witch, which is why he has no choice but to brave his tribulations. The scales of power are not exactly tilted in his favour, there is no way out but to give in to her rigged game of supernatural power play.</p><p>Then, Heiji is pulled up with ease, suddenly standing on his own legs he couldn’t move just a moment ago, regardless of how much he has tried.</p><p>Once he pays more attention to his surroundings, eyes searching for the only person who could grant him a sliver of consolation, a realisation hits him that fascinates him as much as it frightens him.</p><p>The whole party practically came to a standstill and it felt like no time had passed at all, everyone surrounding them standing in the exact same place they had before Koizumi magically pinned him to the wall. This explains why that chick hasn’t drawn any attention to the two of them, at the very least.</p><p>“Do behave, Giboshi-kun. I would hate for Nakamori-san to face any trouble at the party she so kindly invited you to - and on such short notice, too.”</p><p>It comes as a huge relief that her magic spell has seemingly dissipated just as the party appears to come back to life, cheerful chattering filling up the living room once more as if nothing has happened in their midst, although Heiji simply blocks it all out.</p><p>Instead, he seeks to find the Londoner detective, emotional turmoil setting him into motion without a second thought, and immediately leaves Akako's side once he is capable of moving of his own accord.</p><p>And while it may not be like Akako truly hates the Detective of the West,having someone so tightly interwoven in the fates of so many people she cares about, or has to care about for the sake of those she took under her wings, just complicates things.</p><p>Which is why she absolutely cannot accept him. At the very least not yet. Not like this.</p><p>Giboshi and Tsubaki would have to find their own path first.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Guess who's back?</p><p>Are we here to stay? Who knows!</p><p>As always, comments and kudos would be really appreciated. (＾• ω •＾)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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